The invention relates to a meat grilling device comprising an outer container or tray of a non-combustible material and an expendable pack containing charcoal, a fast burning material, and a highly inflammable igniter, the pack also forming the grid for placing thereon the foodstuff to be grilled.
There exist meat grilling packages for single use, which consist of a metal or cardboard tray filled with charcoal and covered by wire netting. A bottle of fuel or a cube of a solid combustible material is usually supplied together with the package or packed into it. Such package can be taken into the open, placed on the ground, and the coal ignited by using the enclosed fuel or the like, whereafter the meat is placed on the wire netting for grilling.
A similar device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,965,096 (BARTON) which comprises an aluminum tray, covered by wire netting and containing pieces of solid coal and a tinder strip threaded among the coal pieces to promote quick and thorough ignition.
A disposable package is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,385,282 (LIOYD), which comprises an aluminum tray, a cover grill in the form of corrugated aluminum sheet, the tray containing charcoal pieces interspersed with crumpled pieces of paper for the purpose of spreading the fire over the entire coal area.
Another disposable grill package is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,863 (KATES), comprising a non-combustible container, a grid, and several paper packets for insertion into the container, one above the other, the packets containing respectively pieces of paper, pieces of wood, and lumps of charcoal.
Although these packages are handy, they have various drawbacks which the present invention avoids as follows: 1. The metal tray--usually of aluminum-foil--reaches a high temperature owing to its direct contact with the charcoal, and the package can, therefore, not be placed on ground which is covered with ignitable material, such as pine needles. 2. There exists the danger that the bottom of the tray melts or burns owing to contact with the burning coal causing spilling of the coal onto the ground. 3. The upstanding rim of the tray hinders combustion air from reaching the lower coal layers, a reason for poor performance in many instances. 4. Lighting of the coal by pouring fuel over its surface is dangerous, may lead to a general conflagration in a forest, besides being not very convenient. In addition the fumes emitted are mostly of carcinogenous nature. 5. On the other hand, lighting the coal by means of a cube of solid fuel will result in slow progress of the fire through the entire coal mass, since it will start only in one point. 6. And there is the major drawback that the meat is to be placed on the wire netting in direct contact with the glowing coal which frequently leads to burning and scorching of the meat surface, thereby spoiling the taste. The scorched portions also prevent penetration of the heat and thorough grilling.
As stated above, the present invention has the object to obviate all these drawbacks and to provide a grilling device which is readily and instantaneously ignited, does not char the meat, but grills it properly, and is not dangerous while being lighted and handled.